Form

ation

of Te

lenga

na

Kash

mir F

loods

GST

Jaya

lalith

a Asse

t Case

Sara

dha S

cam

Reco

gnitio

n of T

rans

gend

er

Swac

hh Bh

arat

Abhiy

an

Mak

e in I

ndia

PMJD

Y

Mar

s Orb

iter M

ission

Need

ed fo

r all

kind

s Ban

king

/Gov

ernm

ent/

Top

10 C

urre

nt A

ffairs

of 2

014

Grou

p Di

scus

sions

.

Inte

rvie

ws,

Insu

ranc

eEd

ited

by: A

nubh

av La

hiri

Table

of Co

ntents

Down

loade

d from

Exam

Pund

it

1

10. F

orm

atio

n of

Tel

enga

na

Tele

ngan

a For

mat

ion

or Fo

rmal

ly kn

own

as A

ndhr

a Pra

desh

Reo

rgan

isatio

n Ac

t, 20

14 is

an A

ct o

f Ind

ian

Parli

amen

t pro

claim

ing t

he b

ifurc

atio

n of

the

Andh

ra P

rade

sh st

ate

into

two

stat

es, T

elan

gana

and

the

resid

uary

And

hra P

rade

sh. T

he A

ct co

nsist

s of a

ll asp

ects

of d

ivisio

n of

asse

ts an

d lia

bilit

ies,

and

final

izes

the

boun

darie

s of t

he p

ropo

sed

new

stat

es an

d th

e st

atus

of H

yder

abad

. The

Bill

was

pre

vious

ly re

ject

ed

by A

ndhr

a Pra

desh

Legis

lativ

e As

sem

bly o

n Ja

nuar

y 30,

201

4.

The

bill w

as p

asse

d in

the

Lok S

abha

on

18 Fe

brua

ry 2

014

and

in th

e Ra

jya Sa

bha o

n th

e 20

Febr

uary

2014

. The

bill

was

atte

sted

by t

he P

resid

ent o

f Ind

ia, P

rana

b M

ukhe

rjee

on 1

Mar

ch 2

014

and

publ

ished

in th

e of

ficia

l Gaz

ette

. The

appo

inte

d da

y of t

he n

ew st

ates

was

2 Ju

ne 2

014.

9. K

ashm

ir Flo

ods

In Se

ptem

ber 2

014,

the

Kash

mir

regio

n w

itnes

sed

disa

stro

us fl

oods

acro

ss m

ajorit

y of i

ts d

istric

ts ca

used

by to

rrent

ial r

ainf

all. T

he In

dian

adm

inist

rate

d Ja

mm

u an

d Ka

shm

ir, as

wel

l as A

zad

Kash

mir,

Gilg

it-

Balti

stan

and

Punj

ab in

Pak

istan

, wer

e af

fect

ed b

y the

se fl

oods

. By S

epte

mbe

r 24,

201

4, n

early

277

peop

le in

Indi

a and

280

peo

ple

in P

akist

an h

ad d

ied

due

to th

e flo

ods.

Hom

e Se

cret

ary o

f Ind

ia A

nil G

osw

ami s

aid

82 ai

rcra

ft an

d he

licop

ters

, 10

batta

lions

of B

orde

r Sec

urity

Forc

e, 3

29 co

lum

ns o

f Ind

ian A

rmy a

nd 3

00 b

oats

wer

e us

ed in

the

resc

ue o

pera

tions

. Acc

ordi

ng to

hom

e se

cret

ary,

10 V

SAT

syst

ems w

ere

air l

ifted

to re

stor

e cr

itica

l tel

ecom

towe

rs an

d a

sate

llite

link

from

Bar

dula

had

bee

n pr

ovid

ed fo

r cru

cial c

omm

unica

tion.

Down

loade

d from

Exam

Pund

it

2

Prim

e M

inist

er o

f Ind

ia, N

aren

dra

Mod

i offe

red

an as

sista

nce

of `

745

cror

e (U

S$12

0 m

illion

) to

the

stat

e

gove

rnm

ent,

this

was

in ad

ditio

n to

`11

00 cr

ore

(US$

170

milli

on) a

lread

y ear

mar

ked

for t

he d

isast

er.

8. G

ST

Wha

t is G

ST?

Good

s and

Serv

ices T

ax --

GST

-- is

a co

mpr

ehen

sive

tax l

evy o

n m

anuf

actu

re, s

ale a

nd co

nsum

ptio

n of

good

s and

serv

ices a

t a n

atio

nal le

vel.

Thro

ugh

a ta

x cre

dit m

echa

nism

, thi

s tax

is co

llect

ed o

n va

lue-

adde

d go

ods a

nd se

rvice

s at e

ach

stag

e of

sale

or p

urch

ase

in th

e su

pply

chain

.

The

syst

em al

lows

the

set-o

ff of

GST

paid

on

the

proc

urem

ent o

f goo

ds an

d se

rvice

s aga

inst

the

GST

whi

ch is

pay

able

on

the

supp

ly of

good

s or s

ervic

es. H

owev

er, t

he e

nd co

nsum

er b

ears

this

tax a

s he

is

the

last

per

son

in th

e su

pply

chain

.

Expe

rts sa

y tha

t GST

is lik

ely t

o im

prov

e ta

x col

lect

ions

and

boos

t Ind

ia's

econ

omic

deve

lopm

ent b

y

brea

king t

ax b

arrie

rs b

etwe

en St

ates

and

inte

grat

ing I

ndia

thro

ugh

a un

iform

tax r

ate.

Wha

t are

the

bene

fits o

f GST

?

Unde

r GST

, the

taxa

tion

burd

en w

ill be

divi

ded

equi

tabl

y bet

wee

n m

anuf

actu

ring a

nd se

rvice

s, th

roug

h

a low

er ta

x rat

e by

incr

easin

g the

tax b

ase

and

min

imizi

ng e

xem

ptio

ns.

It is

expe

cted

to h

elp

build

a tra

nspa

rent

and

corru

ptio

n-fre

e ta

x adm

inist

ratio

n. G

ST w

ill be

is le

vied

only

at th

e de

stin

atio

n po

int,

and

not a

t var

ious

poi

nts (

from

man

ufac

turin

g to

reta

il out

lets

).

Curre

ntly,

a m

anuf

actu

rer n

eeds

to p

ay ta

x whe

n a

finish

ed p

rodu

ct m

oves

out

from

a fa

ctor

y, an

d it

is

agai

n ta

xed

at th

e re

tail o

utle

t whe

n so

ld.

How

will

it b

enef

it th

e Ce

ntre

and

the

Stat

es?

It is

estim

ated

that

Indi

a will

gain

$15

billi

on a

year

by i

mpl

emen

ting t

he G

oods

and

Serv

ices T

ax a

s it

wou

ld p

rom

ote

expo

rts, r

aise

empl

oym

ent a

nd b

oost

grow

th. I

t will

divid

e th

e ta

x bur

den

equi

tabl

y

betw

een

man

ufac

turin

g and

serv

ices.

Wha

t are

the

bene

fits o

f GST

for i

ndiv

idua

ls an

d co

mpa

nies

?

In th

e GS

T sys

tem

, bot

h Ce

ntra

l and

Stat

e ta

xes w

ill be

colle

cted

at th

e po

int o

f sal

e. B

oth

com

pone

nts

(the

Cent

ral a

nd St

ate

GST)

will

be ch

arge

d on

the

man

ufac

turin

g cos

t. Th

is w

ill be

nefit

indi

vidua

ls as

price

s are

likel

y to

com

e do

wn.

Low

er p

rices

will

lead

to m

ore

cons

umpt

ion,

ther

eby h

elpi

ng co

mpa

nies

.

Down

loade

d from

Exam

Pund

it

3

7. Ja

yala

litha

Ass

et C

ase

Jaya

lalit

haa J

ayar

am, w

ho is

a fo

rmer

Chi

ef M

inist

er o

f Tam

il Nad

u co

nvict

ed fo

r misu

sing h

er o

ffice

durin

g her

tenu

re o

f 199

1-96

to am

ass p

rope

rties

wor

th `

66.6

5 cr

ores

.

Jaya

lalit

haa w

as ac

cuse

d of

misu

sing h

er o

ffice

dur

ing h

er fi

rst t

enur

e as

chie

f min

ister

dur

ing 1

991-

96

to am

ass p

rope

rties

wor

th `

66.6

5 cr

ores

and

dep

ositi

ng th

e am

ount

in h

er p

roxy

acco

unts

.

A ra

id in

her

Poe

s gar

den

resid

ence

in 1

997

reco

vere

d 80

0 kg

(1,8

00 lb

) silv

er, 2

8 kg

(62

lb) g

old,

750

pairs

of s

hoes

, 10,

500

sare

es, 9

1 w

atch

es a

nd o

ther

valu

able

s. Th

e va

luab

les w

ere

kept

in a

vaul

t in

Rese

rve

Bank

of I

ndia

in C

henn

ai. T

he o

ppos

ition

par

ty p

etiti

oned

to re

ques

t the

cour

t to

take

the

cont

rol o

f the

asse

ts, b

ut th

e sp

ecia

l judg

e Jo

hn M

ichae

l Cun

ha w

ho in

spec

ted

the

asse

ts o

n 7

Janu

ary

2014

, ord

ered

the

asse

ts to

be

trans

ferre

d to

Ban

galo

re.

The

judg

emen

t of t

he ca

se w

as p

rono

unce

d on

27

Sept

embe

r 201

4 in

the

Spec

ial C

ourt

whi

ch co

nvict

ed

all f

our i

nclu

ding

Jaya

lalit

haa g

uilty

. Cha

os p

reva

iled

outs

ide

the

cour

t pre

mise

s as w

ell in

Tam

il Nad

u on

acco

unt o

f the

judg

emen

t get

ting d

elay

ed fr

om 1

1 am

to 3

pm

. The

re w

as fu

rther

conf

usio

n w

hen

the

sent

ence

was

not

ann

ounc

ed ti

ll 5 p

.m. S

oon

afte

r the

judg

emen

t, vio

lenc

e er

upte

d ac

ross

Tam

il Nad

u.

Spor

adic

incid

ents

of v

iole

nce

were

repo

rted

acro

ss th

e st

ate

initi

ated

by t

he A

IADM

K pa

rty m

en an

d

loya

lists

. Mos

t sho

ps, r

esta

uran

ts, m

alls

and

mov

ie h

alls r

emai

ned

close

d, w

hile

pub

lic tr

ansp

ort w

as

tota

lly st

oppe

d.

Subs

eque

ntly,

at a

mee

ting o

f AIA

DMK,

O. P

anne

erse

lvam

was

chos

en as

the

Chie

f Min

ister

of T

amil

Nadu

.

On 1

7 Oc

tobe

r 201

4, Su

prem

e Co

urt g

rant

ed tw

o m

onth

s bail

and

susp

ende

d he

r sen

tenc

e in

Disp

ropo

rtion

ate

Asse

ts C

ase.

6. Sa

radh

a Gr

oup

Finan

cial S

cam

A m

ajor f

inan

cial s

cam

and

polit

ical s

cand

al ca

used

by t

he co

llaps

e of

a Po

nzi s

chem

e ru

n by

Sara

dha

Grou

p, a

cons

ortiu

m o

f ove

r 200

priv

ate

com

pani

es th

at w

as b

elie

ved

to b

e ru

nnin

g co

llect

ive

inve

stm

ent s

chem

es p

opul

arly

but i

ncor

rect

ly re

ferre

d to

as c

hit f

unds

in Ea

ster

n In

dia.

The

grou

p co

llect

ed ar

ound

`20

0 to

`30

0 bi

llion

(US$

46

billio

n) fr

om o

ver 1

.7 m

illion

dep

osito

rs b

efor

e

it co

llaps

ed in

Apr

il 201

3. In

the

afte

rmat

h of

the

scan

dal, t

he St

ate

Gove

rnm

ent o

f Wes

t Ben

gal w

here

the

Sara

dha G

roup

and

mos

t of i

ts in

vest

ors w

ere

base

d in

stitu

ted

an in

quiry

com

miss

ion

to in

vest

igate

the

colla

pse.

The

Stat

e go

vern

men

t also

set u

p a

fund

of `

5 bi

llion

(US$

79 m

illion

) to

ensu

re th

at lo

w-

inco

me

inve

stor

s wer

e no

t ban

krup

ted.

The

Cent

ral G

over

nmen

t thr

ough

the

Inco

me

Tax D

epar

tmen

t and

Enf

orce

men

t Dire

ctor

ate

laun

ched

a

mul

ti-ag

ency

pro

be to

inve

stiga

te th

e Sa

radh

a sca

m an

d sim

ilar P

onzi

sche

mes

. In

May

201

4, th

e

Supr

eme

Cour

t of I

ndia

, citi

ng in

ter-s

tate

ram

ifica

tions

, pos

sible

inte

rnat

iona

l mon

ey la

unde

ring,

serio

us

Down

loade

d from

Exam

Pund

it

4

regu

lato

ry fa

ilure

s and

alle

ged

polit

ical n

exus

, tra

nsfe

rred

all in

vest

igatio

ns in

to th

e Sa

radh

a Sca

m an

d

othe

r Pon

zi sc

hem

es to

the

Cent

ral B

urea

u of

Inve

stiga

tion

(CBI

), In

dia's

fede

ral in

vest

igativ

e ag

ency

.

Man

y pro

min

ent p

erso

nalit

ies w

ere

arre

sted

for t

heir

invo

lvem

ent i

n th

e sc

am in

cludi

ng tw

o M

embe

rs

of P

arlia

men

t (M

P) -

Kuna

l Gho

sh an

d Sr

injo

y Bos

e, fo

rmer

Wes

t Ben

gal D

irect

or G

ener

al of

Pol

ice R

ajat

Maj

umda

r, a

top

foot

ball c

lub

offic

ial D

ebab

rata

Sark

ar, S

ports

and

Tran

spor

t min

ister

in th

e W

est

Beng

al G

over

nmen

t M

adan

Mitr

a.

5. R

ecog

nitio

n of

Tra

nsge

nder

in In

dia

Natio

nal L

egal

Serv

ices A

utho

rity (

NALS

A) v.

Uni

on o

f Ind

ia is

a la

ndm

ark d

ecisi

on b

y the

Supr

eme

Cour

t

of In

dia,

dec

lared

tran

sgen

ders

to b

e th

e 'th

ird ge

nder

', affi

rmed

that

the

fund

amen

tal r

ights

gran

ted

unde

r the

Con

stitu

tion

of In

dia w

ill be

equ

ally

appl

icabl

e on

the

trans

gend

ers a

nd ga

ve th

em th

e rig

ht to

self-

iden

tifica

tion

of ge

nder

as m

ale,

fem

ale

or th

ird-g

ende

r.

Mor

eove

r, th

e co

urt a

lso h

eld

that

the

trans

gend

ers t

o be

trea

ted

as so

cially

and

eco

nom

ically

bac

kwar

d

class

es a

nd w

ill be

gran

ted

rese

rvat

ion

in ad

miss

ions

in e

duca

tiona

l inst

itutio

ns an

d jo

bs.

4. Sw

achh

Bha

rat A

bhiy

an

It is

a nat

iona

l cam

paign

by t

he G

over

nmen

t of I

ndia

, cov

erin

g 404

1 st

atut

ory t

owns

, to

clean

the

stre

ets,

road

s and

infra

stru

ctur

e of

the

coun

try.

This

cam

paign

was

offi

cially

laun

ched

on

2 Oc

tobe

r 201

4 at

Raj

ghat

, New

Del

hi, w

here

Prim

e M

inist

er

Nare

ndra

Mod

i him

self

clean

ed th

e ro

ad. I

t is I

ndia

's bi

gges

t eve

r cle

anlin

ess d

rive

and

3 m

illion

gove

rnm

ent e

mpl

oyee

s and

scho

ol an

d co

llege

stud

ents

of I

ndia

par

ticip

ated

in th

is ev

ent.

Earli

er it

was

know

n as

Nirm

al B

hara

t Abh

iyaan

. Orig

inal

ly la

unch

ed in

199

9.

The

gove

rnm

ent w

ill be

laun

chin

g a n

atio

nwid

e re

al-ti

me

mon

itorin

g sys

tem

for t

oile

ts co

nstru

cted

unde

r the

Swac

hh B

hara

t Abh

iyan.

With

this

syst

em th

e go

vern

men

t aim

s to

atta

in a

100%

ope

n

defe

catio

n fre

e In

dia b

y 201

9.

The

com

pone

nts o

f the

pro

gram

me

are:

a)

Cons

truct

ion

of in

divid

ual s

anita

ry la

trine

s for

hou

seho

lds b

elow

the

pove

rty lin

e w

ith su

bsid

y

(80%

) whe

re d

eman

d ex

ists.

b)

Conv

ersio

n of

dry

latri

nes i

nto

low

-cos

t san

itary

latri

nes.

Down

loade

d from

Exam

Pund

it

5

c)

Cons

truct

ion

of e

xclu

sive

villag

e sa

nita

ry co

mpl

exes

for w

omen

pro

vidin

g fac

ilitie

s for

han

d

pum

ping

, bat

hing

, san

itatio

n an

d w

ashi

ng o

n a

sele

ctive

bas

is w

here

ther

e is

not a

dequ

ate

land

or sp

ace

with

in h

ouse

s and

whe

re vi

llage

pan

chay

ats a

re w

illing

to m

aint

ain

the

facil

ities

.

d)

Setti

ng u

p of

sani

tary

mar

ts.

e)

Tota

l san

itatio

n of

villa

ges t

hrou

gh th

e co

nstru

ctio

n of

dra

ins,

soak

age

pits

, sol

id an

d liq

uid

was

te d

ispos

al.

f) In

tens

ive ca

mpa

ign fo

r aw

aren

ess g

ener

atio

n an

d he

alth

edu

catio

n to

crea

te a

felt

need

for

pers

onal

, hou

seho

ld an

d en

viron

men

tal s

anita

tion

facil

ities

Spec

ific o

bjec

tives

are

:

El

imin

atio

n of

ope

n de

feca

tion

Co

nver

sion

of in

sani

tary

toile

ts to

pou

r flu

sh to

ilets

Er

adica

tion

of m

anua

l sca

veng

ing

10

0% co

llect

ion

and

scie

ntifi

c pro

cess

ing/

disp

osal

/reu

se/r

ecyc

ling o

f mun

icipa

l sol

id w

aste

A

beha

viour

al ch

ange

in p

eopl

e re

gard

ing h

ealth

y san

itatio

n pr

actic

es

Ge

nera

tion

of aw

aren

ess a

mon

g citi

zens

abou

t san

itatio

n an

d its

linka

ges w

ith p

ublic

hea

lth

Su

ppor

ting u

rban

loca

l bod

ies i

n de

signi

ng, e

xecu

ting a

nd o

pera

ting w

aste

disp

osal

syst

ems

Fa

cilita

ting p

rivat

e-se

ctor

par

ticip

atio

n in

capi

tal e

xpen

ditu

re an

d op

erat

ion

and

mai

nten

ance

cost

s for

sani

tary

facil

ities

3. M

AKE

IN IN

DIA

Mak

e in

Indi

a is a

n in

tern

atio

nal m

arke

ting s

trate

gy, c

once

ptua

lized

by t

he P

rime

Min

ister

of I

ndia

,

Nare

ndra

Mod

i on

25 Se

ptem

ber 2

014

to at

tract

inve

stm

ents

from

bus

ines

ses a

roun

d th

e w

orld

, and

in

the

proc

ess,

stre

ngth

en In

dia's

man

ufac

turin

g sec

tor.

The

cam

paign

has

bee

n co

ncen

trate

d to

fulfi

ll the

pur

pose

of j

ob cr

eatio

n, e

nfor

cem

ent t

o se

cond

ary

and

terti

ary s

ecto

r, bo

ostin

g the

nat

iona

l eco

nom

y, co

nver

ting I

ndia

to a

self-

relia

nt co

untry

and

to gi

ve

the

Indi

an e

cono

my g

loba

l rec

ogni

tion.

The

'Mak

e in

Indi

a' al

so at

tem

pts t

o en

forc

e th

e in

flow

of F

DI in

the

coun

try an

d im

prov

e se

rvice

s by

parti

al pr

ivatiz

atio

n of

loss

-mak

ing g

over

nmen

t firm

s. Th

e ca

mpa

ign is

com

plet

ely u

nder

cont

rol o

f the

Cent

ral G

over

nmen

t of I

ndia.

The

maj

or o

bjec

tive

behi

nd th

is in

itiat

ive is

to fo

cus u

pon

the

heav

y ind

ustri

es a

nd p

ublic

ent

erpr

ises

whi

le ge

nera

ting e

mpl

oym

ent,

empo

wer

ing s

econ

dary

and

terti

ary s

ecto

r and

util

izing

the

hum

an

reso

urce

pre

sent

in In

dia.

The

mos

t com

mon

exa

mpl

e is

our w

ebsit

e ex

ampu

ndit.

in w

hich

has

an

.in d

omain

whi

ch is

a m

ade

in

Indi

a.

Down

loade

d from

Exam

Pund

it

6

Japa

n w

ill co

ntrib

ute

to P

rime

Min

ister

Nar

endr

a Mod

i's 'M

ake

in In

dia'

initi

ative

to su

ppor

t Ind

ia in

beco

min

g a b

ase

of e

cono

mic

grow

th fo

r the

Indo

-Pac

ific r

egio

n an

d th

e w

orld

.

2. P

radh

an M

antri

Jan

Dhan

Yoj

ana

It is

a sch

eme

for c

ompr

ehen

sive

finan

cial in

clusio

n lau

nche

d by

the

Prim

e M

inist

er o

f Ind

ia, N

aren

dra

Mod

i on

28 A

ugus

t 201

4 He

had

anno

unce

d th

is sc

hem

e on

his

first

Inde

pend

ence

Day

spee

ch o

n 15

Augu

st 2

014.

Run

by D

epar

tmen

t of F

inan

cial S

ervic

es, M

inist

ry o

f Fin

ance

, on

the

inau

gura

tion

day,

1.5

Cror

e (1

5

milli

on) b

ank a

ccou

nts w

ere

open

ed u

nder

this

sche

me.

By 2

8 Ja

nuar

y 201

5, 1

2.58

cror

e ac

coun

ts w

ere

open

ed, w

ith ar

ound

`10

590

cror

e (U

S$1.

7 bi

llion)

wer

e

depo

sited

und

er th

e sc

hem

e, w

hich

also

has

an o

ptio

n fo

r ope

ning

new

ban

k acc

ount

s with

zero

balan

ce.

Unde

r the

sche

me:

1.

Acco

unt h

olde

rs w

ill be

pro

vided

zero

-bal

ance

ban

k acc

ount

with

RuP

ay d

ebit

card

, in

addi

tion

to ac

ciden

tal in

sura

nce

cove

r of `

1 la

kh(to

be

given

by '

HDFC

Ergo

').

2.

Thos

e w

ho o

pen

acco

unts

by J

anua

ry 2

6, 2

015

over

and

abov

e th

e `1

lakh

acc

iden

t,

they

will

be gi

ven

life

insu

ranc

e co

ver o

f `30

,000

(to b

e giv

en b

y LIC

).

3.

Afte

r Six

mon

ths o

f ope

ning

of t

he b

ank a

ccou

nt, h

olde

rs ca

n av

ail `

5,00

0 ov

erdr

aft

from

the

bank

.

4.

With

the

intro

duct

ion

of n

ew te

chno

logy

intro

duce

d by

Nat

iona

l Pay

men

ts C

orpo

ratio

n

of In

dia (

NPCI

), a p

erso

n ca

n tra

nsfe

r fun

ds, c

heck

bala

nce

thro

ugh

a no

rmal

pho

ne

whi

ch w

as e

arlie

r lim

ited

only

to sm

art p

hone

s so

far.

5.

Mob

ile b

ankin

g for

the

poor

wou

ld b

e av

ailab

le th

roug

h Na

tiona

l Uni

fied

USSD

Plat

form

(NUU

P) fo

r whi

ch al

l ban

ks an

d m

obile

com

pani

es h

ave

com

e to

geth

er

The

sche

me

has b

een

criti

cized

by m

any e

xper

ts fr

om th

e ba

nkin

g sec

tor a

s an

effo

rt to

ple

ase

vote

rs

that

has

crea

ted

unne

cess

ary w

ork-

burd

en o

n th

e pu

blic-

sect

or b

anks

.

The

Guin

ness

Wor

ld R

ecor

ds h

as re

cogn

ised

the

achi

evem

ents

mad

e un

der t

he P

MJD

Y and

has

give

n a

certi

ficat

e st

atin

g tha

t the

mos

t ban

k acc

ount

s ope

ned

in o

ne w

eek a

s par

t of t

he Fi

nanc

ial In

clusio

n

Cam

paign

is 1

8,09

6,13

0 an

d w

as ac

hiev

ed b

y the

dep

artm

ent o

f fin

ancia

l ser

vices

, gov

ernm

ent o

f Ind

ia

from

Aug

23-

Aug 2

9, 2

014.

Dow

nload

ed fro

m Ex

amPu

ndit

7

1. M

ars O

rbite

r Miss

ion

Man

galya

an is

a sp

acec

raft

orbi

ting M

ars s

ince

24

Sept

embe

r 201

4. It

was

laun

ched

on

5 No

vem

ber

2013

by t

he In

dian

Spac

e Re

sear

ch O

rgan

isatio

n (IS

RO).

It is

Indi

a's fi

rst i

nter

plan

etar

y miss

ion

and

ISRO

has

bec

ome

the

four

th sp

ace

agen

cy to

reac

h M

ars,

afte

r the

Sovie

t spa

ce p

rogr

am, N

ASA,

and

the

Euro

pean

Spac

e Ag

ency

. It i

s the

firs

t Asia

n na

tion

to

reac

h M

ars o

rbit,

and

the

first

nat

ion

to d

o so

on

its fi

rst a

ttem

pt.

The

Mar

s Orb

iter M

issio

n pr

obe

lifte

d-of

f fro

m th

e Fir

st La

unch

Pad

at Sa

tish

Dhaw

an Sp

ace

Cent

re

(Srih

ariko

ta R

ange

SHAR

), An

dhra

Pra

desh

, usin

g a P

olar

Sate

llite

Laun

ch V

ehicl

e (P

SLV)

rock

et C

25.

The

MOM

miss

ion

conc

ept b

egan

with

a fe

asib

ility s

tudy

in 2

010,

afte

r the

laun

ch o

f lun

ar sa

tellit

e

Chan

dray

aan-

1 in

200

8. Th

e go

vern

men

t of I

ndia

appr

oved

the

proj

ect o

n 3

Augu

st 2

012,

afte

r the

Indi

an Sp

ace

Rese

arch

Org

anisa

tion

com

plet

ed `

125

cror

e (U

S$20

milli

on) o

f req

uire

d st

udie

s for

the

orbi

ter.

The

tota

l pro

ject

cost

may

be

up to

`45

4 cr

ore

(US$

71 m

illion

). Th

e sa

tellit

e co

sts `

153

cror

e

(US$

24 m

illion

) and

the

rest

of t

he b

udge

t has

bee

n at

tribu

ted

to gr

ound

stat

ions

and

rela

y upg

rade

s

that

will

be u

sed

for o

ther

ISRO

pro

ject

s.

The

tota

l cos

t of t

he m

issio

n w

as ap

prox

imat

ely `

450

Cror

e (U

S$73

milli

on),

mak

ing i

t the

leas

t-

expe

nsive

Mar

s miss

ion

to d

ate.

The

low

cost

of t

he m

issio

n w

as as

crib

ed b

y K. R

adha

krish

nan,

the

chair

man

of I

SRO,

to va

rious

fact

ors,

inclu

ding

a "m

odul

ar ap

proa

ch",

few

grou

nd te

sts a

nd lo

ng (1

8-20

hour

) wor

king d

ays f

or sc

ient

ists.

Holly

wood

mov

ie G

ravit

y cos

ted

mor

e th

at M

OM an

d th

e To

tal B

udge

t of M

om is

equ

ivale

nt to

less

than

a sin

gle b

us ri

de fo

r eac

h of

Indi

a's p

opul

atio

n of

1.2

billi

on.

Down

loade

d from

Exam

Pund

it

8

Formation of TelenganaKashmir FloodsGSTJayalalitha Asset CaseSaradha ScamRecognition of TransgenderSwachh Bharat AbhiyanMake in IndiaPMJDYMars Orbiter Mission